[gabs1972]

Hi to all,

I might be soon relocating from Italy to the US (hopefully all will go well ) and I will work in Auburn Hills.

So here I am looking for some info on where I could live. I am 40 yrs old and so is my husband (currently no kids could be in the future).

We are looking for a nice area, low crime, great schools. I don't mind a 30 minute commute at max if the town deserves it.

We would like to find a young town where we could try to integrate in the community. Where there is also some nice places to go during weekends of sometimes go out for the night, and possibily a nice town center one can stroll in.

I read Rochester Hills is nice, and the school district too, but haven't found any pictures of the town.

Any other suggestions?
I also noticed that most homes don't have pools, is it because the weather is so bad???
What type of weather should we be expecting?

I live in northern Italy (Turin).

Thanks for any help, suggestions you can give me, greatly appreciated!

PS. would love to live near a beach/lake

[gabs1972]

I'm trying to read up, and I read that some also suggest as nice places:

Lake Orion
Royal Oak
Birmigham

What do you guys think it is best?
I am clueless and can't find any pictures of the downtowns....

[ROfan]

DOWNTOWN royal oak

Here is the website for downtown Royal Oak. I personally love Royal Oak but people working for Chrysler tend to favor the newer suburbs around Auburn Hills such as Oxford, Oakland Twp, Lake Orion, Clarkston and Grand Blanc. Royal Oak has mostly post WW2 bungalows but there are also Craftsman and Tudor-style houses that date to the 1920s, mainly around Woodward Ave. Think big trees and sidewalks Along winding streets for atmosphere.

Birmingham is similar in housing stock to Royal Oak but is a much more upper class suburb with many new custom homes (but with some down-to-earth housing, too) that execs favor. I like it quite a lot as there is a real bustling downtown and it is centrally located, as is Royal Oak. It's also closer to the airport than the far flung northern suburbs I listed above.

You say you may want to live on a lake and there are plenty around here. Some of the northern suburbs I mentioned have them, as do Bloomfield and West Bloomfield and Commerce Twp. Also, in Wayne County north of downtown Detroit are the Grosse Pointe communities, whose houses run the gamut from ritzy like Birmingham to small bungalows. Grosse Pointe Shores is on Lake St. Clair.

The benefit to Royal Oak, Birmingham and the Grosse Pointes is they are walkable communities, more like what you're used to in Turin. The others I listed are car-centric suburbs. Within Rochester Hills is downtown Rochester, but it's smaller with less to do than Royal Oak or Birmingham.

Really you can't go wrong with any of these places. I'd suggest driving around and getting a feel for each, then finding a realtor in the cities you like to show you houses.

Here are some other websites for you:
https://www.facebook.com/downtownroyaloak/photos

http://www.ci.birmingham.mi.us/

http://www.enjoybirmingham.com/

http://www.grossepointecity.org/aboutUs.asp

You might also want to try Flickr for more photos of these cities and the others I mentioned.

[animatedmartian]

We don't have many pools because we have many lakes and waterfront. Most people go to nearby parks and beaches though few still buy a pool.

Here's a video of Rochester Hills. A few years old though, but it's generally the still the same.


(English) Rochester Hills Promotional Video - YouTube

[animatedmartian]

And here's a little bit of Birmingham:

[gabs1972]

ROfan and animatedmartian thank you so much for the help.

I guess the best thing would be to drive around and get a feel.

What's the weather like year round? It is very harsh in the winter?

My husband never lived outside of Italy (while I lived in NY - Westchester - for some years) so I would like to find a town he could feel comfortable, where there is a nice community we could live in.

Everyone tells me I should look also for a town which has excellent schooling so that in the future the house keeps it's value... which school districts should I look into??

[Coldjensens]

Rochester Hills is not a town. It is just suburbia. The City of Rochester has a nice downtown however. One of my favorites. That is probably your best bet.

Brimingham has a nice downtown. It is larger and more upscale. It has a bit of a repuration for snobbery and/or new money pretension (lots of bling, trophy wives, fancy clothes, cars, pets, etc). However there are a lot of nice people there too and it is a pretty neat downtown.

Royal Oak tends to attract the younger crowd. It appeal most to recent college graduates and older people who have not yet realized they are no longer in college. The downtown is neat and lively, but adult oriented. Schools are decent but not great. However the fact that Royal Oak is THE place for young people pretty much guarantees a steady demand for housing wihtin walking distance of downtown.

THe only other place wihtin commuting distance of Auburn Hills that has an actual town that i can think of is Northville and that may be pushing the commute a bit. Northville is a quaint old fashioned small town surrounded by acres and acres of modern subdivisions (most towns are now). It is small and quiet and they pretty much roll up the sidewalks @ 8 p.m. , but it is a very pleasant place to live. I have heard that Northville held its property values during the recent recession better than any place except Ann Arbor. (Holding better does nto mean they held, they just did not crash as far or as rapidly).

If you do not insist on a town, then many other options are avialable. However for a place with a downtown that may be your limit.

Winters are cold. Harsh depends on your description and which winter. This past winter was warm for winter. Not much snow and it melted right away. Not many super cold days. Winter is more fun when there is more snow and it sticks around through the weekend once in a while.

Rochester, Birmingham and Northville all have execellent schools.


I just rememebred, Farmington also has a downtown of sorts. It is even smaller than Northville (basically one street), it is within range of Auburn Hills and has good schools.

[PosterExtraordinaire]

Originally Posted by gabs1972

ROfan and animatedmartian thank you so much for the help.

I guess the best thing would be to drive around and get a feel.

What's the weather like year round? It is very harsh in the winter?

My husband never lived outside of Italy (while I lived in NY - Westchester - for some years) so I would like to find a town he could feel comfortable, where there is a nice community we could live in.

Everyone tells me I should look also for a town which has excellent schooling so that in the future the house keeps it's value... which school districts should I look into??

i lived in northern italy and as far as i remember it, the winters are very comparable. Maybe a little warmer in northern italy BUT much less sunny. If you manage there, you will manage here. You might even prefer it (because of more sun). The summers are also very comparable, you basically picked the same climate to move to

most people don't have pools because they're expensive and you can onlu use them 3-4 months of a year.

All the towns mentioned (Bham, RO) have walkable downtowns but they're nothing compared to what you're used to in italy. In fact they're rather small. There's not much I can tell you about that. Ann Arbor will probably give you all you want except the commute will kill you. Hamtramck you will have to put up with lower quality schools + you might feel outta place (very muslim oriented then people from the balkans) + it's working class. DT/midtown/corktown are more for young professionals. Windsor is another good spot but it's in canada and comes with all the logistics that come with it.

i agree with jensens here, rochester for you guys. Royal Oak isn't anything special to move to specifically. your commute will be a lot better from rochester to auburn hills than royal oak. GP communities have several lousy downtowns imo. again your commute won't be very good. Bham, again nothing worth moving to though you should check this one out. The commute will be worse than rochester but you might like the vibe.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by PosterExtraordinaire

imost people don't have pools because they're expensive and you can onlu use them 3-4 months of a year.

Many communities and schools ahve indoor pools. We have an outdoor pool, but we have a rolling greenhouse/cover over it, so we can swim from May through October. Sometimes we heat up the pool and swim at thanksgiving and/or christmas as well.


"i agree with jensens here,."
I am going to go buy a lottery ticket. This is a on in a billion occurrance.

[NikHenson]

I would say Troy which surprisingly wasn't mentioned. There really isn't a downtown area but has a world class mall,Somerset Mall. It has excellent schools(the northern Troy High School side-not Athens high school) and is a 5-10 minute drive to both Royal Oak and Birmingham which both have awesome strolling downtowns. It would be a 10-20 minute ride to Auburn Hills and 30-40 minute drive to downtown Detroit. Birmingham and Bloomfield hills have the best schools around. You can always check school grades at GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community and type the name of the city. I have moved 7 times in 7 years since I left the Detroit metro area and I use this site as well as great schools to get a fix. I'm assuming if you are coming from Turin and headed to Auburn Hills you are going to the Chrysler building. My father worked for them and often traveled to Turin. We lived in Birmingham and Troy.
The weather here isn't unlike westchester. Last winter was actually mild.